• Ryan P Farmer, Benoit Herbert, Derly O Cuellar, Jiandong Hao, Philip F Stahel, Robin Yasui, David J Hak, and Cyril Mauffrey.
• Department of Orthopaedics, Denver Health Medical Center, 777 Bannock Street, 80204, Denver, CO, USA.
• Int Orthop. 2014 Aug 1;38(8):1731-8.

AbstractOsteoporosis has been recognised as a public health concern for at least three decades but it has been relatively recent that the push has been for orthopaedic surgeons to take a more active role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with decreased bone mineral density (BMD). Most often these patients are encountered after they have suffered a fracture making secondary prevention the area where orthopaedists may exert the greatest influence on patient care. The purpose of this article is to provide a succinct framework for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with decreased BMD. Patients are deemed to have decreased BMD if they have suffered a fragility fracture, a fracture caused by a low-energy traumatic event. These patients are often encountered in the emergency department and admitted for further treatment of their fractures or recommended for follow-up in the clinic. Regardless of treatment course these are opportunities for the orthopaedic surgeon to intervene in the osteoporotic disease process and positively affect a patient's bone health. This article compiles the available literature on osteoporosis and presents it succinctly with the incorporation of both a diagnosis algorithm and treatment profile table. With the use of these two tools, orthopaedic surgeons everywhere should be able to take a more active role in their patients' bone health.

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